Military aircraft reportedly blamed for UK air traffic control outage

A significant air traffic control outage in the UK, which grounded thousands of flights, was attributed to military aircraft entering incorrect flight data into the system, according to a recent report. Over 2,000 flights were canceled on Tuesday when the National Air Traffic Services (Nats) system experienced a shutdown lasting four hours.

Four unnamed individuals familiar with the incident stated that a UK military aircraft submitted a faulty flight plan, causing an operational meltdown in Nats' air traffic control systems. Nats' operations officer Kathryn Leahy contacted multiple airports and airlines, stating that the processing system lacked a dedicated backup due to Nats undergoing a comprehensive overhaul and the volume of data, which would incur "vast costs" to duplicate.

The crisis has put pressure on Nats' chief executive, Martin Rolfe, who was summoned to a meeting by Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander. Alexander demanded that Rolfe provide a report on the cause of the shutdown within a week and commissioned an independent review by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) into the incident. This outage is the most severe to affect British commercial airspace since August 2023, when a technical problem led to nearly 1,600 flights being delayed.

Nats faced criticism following that episode, with the CAA setting out 34 recommendations to improve its systems, all of which were claimed to have been implemented. Rolfe dismissed the possibility of a cyber-attack, asserting that they had never witnessed an incident recurring, making this a unique occurrence in their 50-year history.

Several airlines called for Rolfe's resignation or dismissal, with Ryanair's CEO, Michael O'Leary, accusing him of lying to protect himself and expressing that his position was untenable. The delays resulted in some aircraft with passengers waiting for information for over four hours, while flights destined for the UK were diverted to other airports, with some forced to land in Germany.

Although the impact of the outage was extensive, passengers affected were unlikely to receive compensation, as the delays were classified as "extraordinary circumstances." The Ministry of Defence denied any wrongdoing on the part of the military, stating that there was no indication of error on their part and urging caution while the Nats investigation is ongoing.